Machine for pasting storage battery grids



Sept, 18, 1945.

,1. E. HATFIELD MACHINE FOR' PASTING STORAGE BATTERY GRIDS Filed Aug. 28, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l mw Z M Q a u A w w \w\\\ 7% Sept. 18, 1945. l J. E, HATFIELD 2,335,277

MACHINE FOR PASTING STORAGE BATTERY GRIDS Filed Aug. 28, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. j2-7M5 45 H4 7'F/EL0 Patented Sept. 18, 1945 James E; Hatfield, Shaker Helghts', Ohio, assigns:

to Willard Storage Battery Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of West Virginia v Application august-2s, 1943, Serial No. sneeze I i 3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved machine for pasting storage battery grids and particularly to a machine for pasting grids which are thicker than normal.

It has been found that in pasting the thicker grids the interstices of the grids are. not complete- 1y filled andthat vacant spaces occur under the ribs next to the top of the grids, i. e., next to the entrance .of the paste from the hopper.

The particular object of the invention is to provide means whereby the grids, regardless of their thickness, are completely filled with paste.

This object is attained by providing on the underside of the grids an auxiliary movable pasting device preferably in the form of an oscillating compressor which during the passage of the grid beneath the paste hopper makes several oscillations and thus serves on each upward movering beneath the ribs at the top thereof.

The invention may be further briefly summarthrough the .grids. It will be notedthat the P shafts-carrying the pushers ll are connected by gearing Ila so as to rotate in unison, but in opposite directions. However, the same is not true oi the pump l8, even though the two wheels have meshed teeth and are rotated in opposite directions. Considerable pressure is imposed on these 'two toothed wheels and they are preferably separately driven by two shafts Ila which are properly geared to the motor. These toothed wheels, I 8, which rotate in the directions indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, pick up the paste fed to them by the pushers i1 and force the paste downwardly between the teeth and the ized as consisting in certain novel details of con-' struction and combinations and arrangements 01' parts which will be described in the specification and set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings,

Fi 1 is a longitudinal sectional view substantially along the line l-i of Fig. 3, showing a pasting machine involving my invention;

i 2 is a top plan View of the samewith the paste hopper removed and certain other parts broken away; andv Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the machine with the paste hopper applied.

Referring now to the drawings, l0 represents the paste hopper the construction of which will be described shortly' Beneath this hopper the grids H are fed-in, continuous succession along a suitable trackway by ,upper and lower knurled rollers i2 and H which extend the entire width of the grids on the side in advance of the hopper and, after the grids are pasted, they are fed by upper part thereof a pair of ,rotating pushers I1 which feed the paste downwardly to a paste pump l8 consisting of a pair of meshing gears or two wheels with meshed teeth that develop considerable pressure and thus force the paste into and P mi t the s ap r curved walls Illa at the lower part of the hopper to a flaring outlet-opening lllb which is located immediately above the feed of the plates ll.

As stated above, the pump or toothed wheels l8 force the paste into and through the grids. and underneath the outlet opening Illb oi' the hopper below the feed of the grids there isprovided a device which pushes the paste back up into the grids from the-lower side thereof so as to completely fill the interstices, of the grids. This device preferably consists of a member l9 which is pivoted at 20 at the far end of the outlet opening Nib where it is substantially flush with the undersides 01' the grids, and it is given oscillating movement such that in its elevated position it is substantially flush with the lower faces of the grids and in its lowermost position it is a suitable distance away from the grids. The oscillating member I9 is given fairly rapid movement to and away from the grids by means of a connecting rod 2| connected at its lower end to an oilset point lid of a-rotating wheel or equivalent member i! which is driven by the motor (not shown) and at its upper end is connected at ill) to the center of the underside of the oscillating member l9, as shown by full lines .in Fig. 1 and by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Close to the rollers ii and i5 is a scraper 23 which scrapes the lower sides oi the grids tree of excess paste. This bottom scraper 28 cooperates with the edge of the hopper ll so as to prevent the scraper from forcing any paste out or. the grids. Beyond the rollers I and I I there is an upper scraper 2 which scrape the'upper sides of the grids free of excess paste and a similar lower scraper which frees the lower sides of the grids. of excess paste. This scraper 24 is mounted in a suitable holder 25. Only the upper scraper 24 is here shown, and it will be understood that the lower scraper will in the main be the paste up against the undersides oi the uppermost ribs of the grids.

- the grids having means for feeding the paste I prefer to employ an oscillating device rather than one which moves bodily vertically since by the oscillating movement I obtain a graduated pasting action or upward movement of the paste, the pivoted end it of the oscillating member having substantially the action of a scraper to ,smooth the lower surface of the grids.

It will be unde that the rotating pushers ii and the pump it, as well as the several knurled rollers and the oscillating member '59 and the wheel 22 which operates the oscillating member I9, will be suitabiy connected to a motor 50 as to be driven continuously thereby.

While this invention is described particularly for pasting grids which are thicker than normal,

it has utility also in pasting the smaller grids or grids of any size or thickness.

While I have shown the preferred construction only. I do not desire to be confined to the precise details shown but aim in my claims to cover all modifications which do not involve a departure from the spirit and the scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a machine, means for feeding grids alone a given path, a rate hopper above device mounted for oscillatory movement beneath the outlet opening of the paste hopper and below the line of feed of the grids, and means for oscillating said device to push the paste into the grids from the lower side thereof.

3. In a, pasting machine, a hopper for feeding paste into grids comprising pusher means toward the top of the hopper and a pump near the lower end of the hopper and comprising a pair of toothed members for feeding paste between said members and the walls of the hopper to an opening at the bottom of the hopper, and a pasting device mounted for oscillatory movement and operating on the lower side of the grids and serving to push u into the grids the paste that is forced through them by the pump, and means for giving said pasting device an oscillatory movement.

JAMES E. HA. 

